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10 futuristic predictions for 2014 and beyond

Jan

22

2014

10 futuristic predictions for 2014 and beyond

Every year, representatives of the authoritative magazine The Futurist analyze the most provocative forecasts and forward-looking statements. Suggest you read them and agree or disagree. None of these projections should not be regarded as absolute. However, to make a compelling picture of the future is quite real.

As you know, the future is not a destination. This is the result of decisions that we make today. And if anyone can predict the future professional in the 21st century, it futurologists .

1. Due to the large volume of data, the environment will anticipate your every move

Prediction: “Computer sensors and broadcast organically fits into our physical environment, creating something that we call the” internet of things “. Flow data reported by sensor networks, RFID-tags, surveillance cameras, unmanned aerial vehicles and Geo will telegraph where we were and where we are going. In the future, these data streams will be integrated into the services, platforms and programs, which will open a window into the lives of billions of people. ”

2. We will renew the recently extinct species

Prediction: “passenger pigeon, for example, may return after 100 years of nothingness. In September-October geneticist Ben Novak described the strategy of “reanimation” passenger pigeon, the last of whom died in 1914. ”

The project, dubbed Great Return , includes five research stages:

Sequencing and analysis of the genome of a dove to understand the biology of passenger pigeon;
production of cells that can be used to create a living passenger pigeon;
creation of synthetic DNA genome passenger pigeon;
the use of altered cells to create chimeras pedigree (combination of rocky and wandering pigeons), which will eventually create a pure passenger pigeon;
provision of new passenger pigeon wild.

Животные

3. By 2020, the population will decrease

Prediction: “By 2020, half of humanity will live in countries where the birth rate falls below the level of mortality, and consequently decrease and population. The reason for this is that older people will live longer and fewer children will be born. Countries will compete with the reduction of the tax base, and pools of retirees will expand as they will require social security and health benefits. Society will survive, but GDP will fall considerably throughout the world and may never rise. ”

4. Doctors will see a brain disease long before they occur

Prediction: “Brain scans allow doctors know that a patient with Alzheimer’s face, Lou Gehrig’s disease, dementia or some other brain disease 10-15 years before the first symptoms. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis learn to identify different chemical biomarkers in the bodies and brains of patients. Doctors could slow progression of the disease, if they start treatments before. ”

5. Purchase and possession of things go out of fashion

Prediction: “Housing Markets, cars, music, books and many other products show a general trend: young consumers choose rental and subscription mechanisms rather than purchase and physical possession. General factory bypass private offices, rental home ownership becomes more popular, and sales of books and music may never become as popular as it once. ” – Hugo Garcia, “Consumption 2.0”.

6. Kvantovye kompyutery lead to the creation of the artificial intelligence

Prediction: “Conventional computers can not make decisions on a par with men, but quantum computers eventually could, says Geordie Rose, founder of the quantum computer D-Wave One. They use programs based on quantum mechanics, to see several possible outcomes of any task and combine information from each formulated solutions. 10-15 years of development, computers, according to Rose, can overstep the threshold of machine consciousness . ”

7. Death disrupt aquatic ecosystems phytoplankton

Prediction: “The tiny marine plants are sensitive to temperature changes, so global warming is a serious threat to their populations. University of Michigan study predicts that up to 40% of the phytoplankton die out by the end of this century. ”

8. The future of science in the hands of amateur kraudsorserov

Prediction: “The so-called civil science that uses a network of volunteers in research, may be the best model of the 21st century for large-scale research. Among the organizations involved in civil science, Laboratory of Ornithology at Cornell University, the U.S. Missile Academy, NASA and many others. ”

Марс

9. Missiles based on fusion will significantly reduce the time and cost of sending humans to Mars

Prediction: “Space exploration is limited by how much fuel our vehicles can carry, and the fuel itself weighs too much. However, this may change. Washington University team has developed a type of plasma enclosed in its own magnetic field. The magnetic field causes the metal ring around the plasma to explode and create a shell that runs synthesis reaction. ”

10. Atomic precision production system will do everything more productive and less expensive

Prediction: “The term” nanotechnology “actually meant, according to K. Eric Drexler – the father of the idea – poatomnoe production, which will lead to extraordinary improvements in the production of all things. One of the major advantages will become pure energy, such as a liquid hydrocarbon fuel produced by extracting hydrogen from water and carbon dioxide recycled. ”